That's what top-ranked Penn State accomplished in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Friday night Madison Square Garden in New York.
Exactly half of the Nittany Lions' starting lineup this season won in the NCAA semifinals and will wrestle for an NCAA championship on Saturday night. Penn State racked up 114 points and takes a commanding 34.5-point lead into the final day of competition. Oklahoma State sits in second, followed by Iowa.
"We're happy," said Penn State coach Cael Sanderson. "We wrestled pretty well. A lot of tough matches, obviously."
Jason Nolf gets his hand raised after winning in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"Five guys have a chance to win a national title," said Sanderson. "Conaway has a chance to come back and take third. This is a pretty good team."
Penn State is doing with a mix of youth and experience. Nolf and Nickal are freshmen, Retherford is a sophomore, while Megaludis, McIntosh and Conaway are seniors. Sanderson says the wrestlers feed off each other.
"They love to compete," said Sanderson. "You see them … They're smiling and joking around. They're light before they go out and compete. They go out and get right after it."
The top four teams in the standings, Penn State, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Virginia Tech all have six All-Americans. Iowa has the second most finalists with three. Oklahoma State has two finalists.
"It was a day of mostly good, a few bad," said Oklahoma State coach John Smith of his team's performance on Friday. "I think this morning's round and this afternoon's round put us in a little better position."
Alex Dieringer defeated Missouri's Daniel Lewis to advance to the finals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Dieringer will face Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan in a battle of undefeated wrestlers.
"He's a good wrestler," Dieringer said of Jordan. "I'm just going to go out there and do what I do."
Gwiazdowski, a New York native, will meet World champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State in the final match of the NCAAs.
"I want to wrestle the best guy," said Gwiazdowski. "So if you want to be the NCAA champ you've got to be the best … We're the two best guys at this point. Tomorrow night we'll find out. Either way I think it's good for the media attention and also both of us."
Kyle Snyder hits an ankle pick on Ty Walz of Virginia Tech in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"I know that he's going to have a game plan for me," said Snyder. "I just want to make it a wrestling match. I want to get into wrestling positions. I feel like if I can get to lots of wrestling positions I'll come out on top in the majority of them."
Isaiah Martinez of Illinois (165) and Gabe Dean of Cornell (184) will be looking to repeat as NCAA champions.
Martinez, an undefeated freshman NCAA champion last season, won a tough match in sudden victory over Kent State's Ian Miller to advance to the finals. He will now battle Penn State's Nolf for the third time this season. Nolf pinned Martinez in their first meeting in January, but Martinez evened the score by beating Nolf in the Big Ten finals.
"I had a feeling it was going to come down to me and him," said Martinez. "I just don't think anyone knows the right way to wrestle him, and I've kind of figured it out. If it's the way I want it to be tomorrow, it will be entertaining and it will be a brawl."
Also wrestling for a second NCAA title is Missouri's J'den Cox, an NCAA champion in 2014. His finals opponent is top-seeded and undefeated McIntosh.
Two returning NCAA champions were pinned in the semifinals, Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State (125) and Cody Brewer of Oklahoma (133). Tomasello -- the only No. 1 seed to lose prior to the finals -- was pinned in sudden victory by Iowa's Thomas Gilman. Brewer was pinned in 21 seconds by No. 1 Nahshon Garrett of Cornell.
Wyoming Bryce Meredith was the lowest-seeded wrestler to reach the finals, coming through as the No. 14 seed at 141 pounds. He will face No. 1 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State for the championship. He becomes the first Wyoming wrestler to reach the NCAA finals since Reese Andy at 177 pounds in 1996.
"I knew I could beat anybody at any given moment," said Meredith. "Now I'm in the finals, and it feels good. It feels everything that you'd ever expect. It gives you goose bumps. I would advise all the little kids to work real hard so they can feel this feeling."
Tomorrow's medals rounds are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Team Standings
1. Penn State 114
2. Oklahoma St. 79.5
3. Iowa 77.5
4. Virginia Tech 69.5
5. Ohio St. 68
6. Missouri 58.5
7. Nebraska 56
8. Cornell 53.5
9. NC State 43
10. Illinois 42
11. Michigan 39
12. Lehigh 30
13. Iowa St. 29.5
14. Oklahoma 28
15. Kent St. 25.5
15. Rutgers 25.5
17. Wyoming 24.5
18. Navy 20
18. Pennsylvania 20
18. Wisconsin 20
21. Minnesota 19.5
21. Stanford 19.5
23. Oregon St. 19
24. Northern Iowa 17.5
25. Old Dominion 16.5
Finals Matchups
125: No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa)
133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa)
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 14 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming)
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa)
157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State)
165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin)
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State)
184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska)
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri)
285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) vs. No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State)
Below is a weight-by-weight look at the semifinal match results.
125:
No. 4 Thomas Gilman of Iowa advanced to the finals by pinning No. 1 Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State in sudden victory. The two Big Ten wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods, sending the match to sudden victory tied at 1-1. Gilman was able to score a takedown off an attack and put the Buckeye sophomore to his back and secure the pin. Penn State's Nico Megaludis will be making his third NCAA finals appearance after topping American's David Terao 8-2. Megaludis picked up takedowns in each of the three periods and added an escape and riding time point for the six-point victory.
133:
Top-seeded Nahshon Garrett of Cornell made quick work of returning NCAA champion Cody Brewer, pinning him in just 21 seconds. Iowa's Cory Clark became Iowa's second NCAA finalist by edging Zane Richards of Illinois 4-3 in a rubber match between the two. Richards jumped out to an early lead after a first-period takedown. The two traded escapes and Richards held a 3-2 lead in the third period. Clark stayed aggressive and in the closing seconds was able to secure a takedown for the lead and the one-point victory.
141:
No. 1 Dean Heil Oklahoma State had little trouble with No. 4 Anthony Ashnault of Rugers, winning 8-3 on the strength of takedowns in each of the three periods. No. 14 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming continued his Cinderella run to the finals, stunning No. 2 Joey McKenna of Stanford 5-3. McKenna was able to get on the scoreboard, picking up a first-period takedown and led 2-1 after the opening period. Meredith started the second period in the top position and rode out McKenna the entire period. In the third period Meredith earned an escape to knot the score at 2-2 on the scoreboard. Then in the final 30 seconds Meredith picked up a takedown to lead 4-2. McKenna was able to escape, but Meredith was able to fend off the Stanford freshman's attacks and add a riding time point for a two-point victory.
149:
Top-seeded Zain Retherford of Penn State was unchallenged in his semifinal match, pinning Michigan's Alec Pantaleo in the second period. Retherford raced out to a 12-0 lead before putting Pantaleo to his back and sticking him. Brandon Sorensen made it 3-for-3 for Iowa in the semifinals by topping No. 11 Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State 4-2. After a slow start, Sorensen picked up a second-period takedown to go up 2-1 in the second period. Collica picked up a late second-period escape to knot the score at 2-2. In the third period Sorenen escaped to go up 3-2 and was able to fend of Pantaleo's attacks and hold on for a 4-2 victory after an additional point for riding time.
157:
The much-anticipated third meeting between Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Jason Nolf will happen on Saturday night. Both punched their tickets to the finals with impressive victories on Friday night. Martinez advanced to the finals with a thrilling 7-5 victory over Kent State's Ian Miller in a match that saw a lot of action and explosive moves. Miller scored the match's first takedown, but Martinez responded with a takedown of his own in the final minute of the first period to take a 3-2 lead after one period. In the second period Martinez escaped to take a 4-2 lead, which is all the scoring that would take place in the period. Miller turned it up in the third period, escaping and then picking up a takedown to take a 5-4 lead. Martinez escaped to knot the score at 5-5 and ultimately send the match to sudden victory. Martinez then scored a quick takedown in sudden victory to claim the victory. The freshman Nolf scored early and often and rolled to a 19-4 technical fall victory in the third period over No. 15 Chad Walsh of Rider.
165:
The top two seeds, Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State and Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin, both undefeated, advanced to the finals. Dieringer cruised to a 14-4 major decision victory over Missouri's Daniel Lewis. Isaac beat cousin Bo of Ohio State for the fourth time in four meetings. Isaac scored a first-period takedown and took a 2-1 lead into the third period. Isaac escaped in the third period to go up 3-1. Bo responded with a takedown to knot the score at 3-3 ... but Isaac earned a reversal to go up 5-3. Bo would add an escape, but Isaac held on for the victory.
174:
No. 1 Bo Nickal of Penn State won a thriller over No. 12 Nate Jackson of Indiana, avenging a loss from earlier this season. Jackson jumped out early with a takedown in the first period. Nickal battled back with a takedown of his own in the second period to tie the match at 3-3. In the third period Nickal escaped to grab a 4-3 lead and held on for the victory. On the bottom side of the bracket, true freshman Myles Martin of Ohio State came through to the finals from the No. 11 seed, beating unseeded Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State 8-2 in the semifinals. Martin scored three takedowns -- one in each period -- and added an escape and riding time point for the six-point win.
184:
Defending NCAA champion Gabe Dean of Cornell is back in the NCAA finals after a convincing 9-4 decision over North Carolina State's Pete Renda, who entered the tournament as the No. 13 seed. Dean's finals opponent: No. 7 T.J. Dudley of Nebraska. Dudley rolled to a 12-4 major decision over Missouri's Willie Miklus in the semifinals. Miklus had beaten Dudley in the previous meeting at the NWCA National Duals.
197:
As expected, the top two seeds, Morgan McIntosh of Penn State and J'den Cox of Missouri advanced to the finals at 197 pounds. McIntosh grinded out a 3-2 victory over Iowa's Nathan Burak, picking up the match's only takedown in the first period. Cox pinned Minnesota's Brett Pfarr in the third period after building a 6-2 lead.
285:
The top two seeds, North Carolina State's Nick Gwiazdowski and Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, earned semifinal victories to reach the finals. Gwiazdowski edged Michigan's Adam Coon 3-2. Gwiazdowski scored the match's only takedown in the first period. Snyder was pushed in the semifinals by Virginia Tech's Ty Walz, but came out on top 10-6.
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